It is not metaphorically that I state, the beauty of the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin, Ireland cannot be described in words. After experiencing it for myself I have to come to believe that there are only a few places in the world where one can capture Mother Nature in all her glory as one can at the National Gardens.

Only a futile attempt can be made towards describing the mere features of the place but if you wish to experience its real enigma you will have to pay a visit to the gardens.

National Botanic Gardens | Image Resource : flickr.com

The National Botanic Gardens of Ireland have been developed and maintained by the Royal society of Dublin since 1795. It has been developed in a 19.5 hectare stretch of fertile flood plain of the River Tolka in Dublin. The gardens are located 5 km from the city centre.

The gardens have an astonishingly large collection of 20000 living and a more than a million dried and preserved specimens of plants. As nature lovers both my husband and I enjoyed observing the unique varieties of plants and the historical collection of plant products such as fruits and seeds. The garden is famous centre for horticulture research given the unique and unparalleled biodiversity it encapsulates in one place.

Orchid in the Botanic Gardens | Image Resource : en.wikipedia.org

A willow at the gardens | Image Resource : en.wikipedia.org/

The National Botanic Gardens are also a very famous tourist destination which is completely free for the public. The beautiful architecture and inspiring collection of orchids were my favourite parts of the Gardens. The Palm House which was built in 1823 is an example of Irish and British architectural marvels. Its beauty remains unsurpassed being surrounded by exotic varieties of flowers and their enigmatic aromas.

Palm House | Image Resource : en.wikipedia.org

The greenhouses that are most popular include the Aquatic, Fern and Cactus glass houses. They have been built in uniquely different designs which add to their beauty. The Gardens to me are a breeding place for imagination, thought and creativity and it is not a coincidence that many famous philosophers and poets have done their best work staying at these gardens.

I leave these gardens with a lot of emotions and thoughts that are difficult to describe but rather only the subtle feeling of curiosity hidden beneath a blanket of satisfaction and fulfilment comes to mind.

Phoenix Park Ireland - There are so many spectacular places to explore in Ireland. After travelling continuously for a week we decided to take a break. We were in Dublin and we decided to hang around the Phoenix Park. It was a beautiful park. We rented out few bikes and checked out the entire park.

“Travel makes a wise man better, and a fool worse.” - A great quote by Thomas Fuller. It tells you that travel can bring out the personality of the person. It can show how resilient and flexible you are. It can also bring out the worse in you, if things don’t go your way.

Description - I have always heard that Indian burgers are not as good as the ones served in Europe or America. So I make it a point to try different burgers when I’m travelling overseas. During our trip to Ireland, I tried this delicious Irish Blue Cheese Beef Burger. It was the best burger I have ever had.

My mind was still lingering in the marvelous architectural design of Clontarf Castle when my hubby interrupted me asking for the direction to the next sightseeing place. I abruptly remembered that we had to travel to National Museum of Natural History Dublin. It is located in Merrion Street Upper, 5.8 km away from the Dublin Center. Our chauffeur informed us that it is just 10 minutes drive from here.

Though I am not an ardent lover of history, I love visiting museums and collecting information for it helps me in the job. We reached the place quickly and while getting out of the cab, I scanned the place to get the glimpse of it. The museum is designed as a ‘cabinet-style’ structure to house all the zoological collections. I could find that the museum has a long history since it was built in 1856 to preserve the collections of the Royal Dublin Society. There were around 10,000 exhibits and is a delight to watch them.

Entrance to the Museum | Image Resource : en.wikipedia.org

I noticed that the building looked old but intact; of course, there were a few additions but that did not change its look. We entered the ground floor to view some of the exceptional collections of Irish animals such as the skeletons of otters, giant deer, badgers, pine martens and birds, etc.

Aaron was quite excited to run around watching the different types of sea animals. I couldn’t figure out how long I spent in the ground floor. The time was running out and we have a lot to cover. We hurried through the stairs to reach the first floor. Gosh! I couldn’t believe my eyes, there was a world of mammals such as apes, monkeys, hamsters, and lemurs to name a few.

Nevertheless, we couldn’t enter the balcony level for it was closed for safety reasons. I felt let down when I learned that we missed seeing the evolution process, closely related birds such as kiwis, fresh water birds, and so on. There were also exhibits of jelly fish, sea urchins, coral, and sea anemones.

Irish Farmers Market - During our Ireland trip, I decided to check out the Irish farmers market which was close to our hotel. My uncle had a farm so I knew a few things about farm produce. Farmers Market in Ireland is quite different from the ones in India. We had a great time exploring the market. We learned a few things about the local Irish produce.

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About Author

﻿This is Diana, I consider myself as a passionate individual. I believe that everything in life should be given equal importance, be it your job, family or hobbies. You don’t have to make sacrifices, you can enjoy everything if you plan it well. I’m a working mom, I love cooking, travel/vacation and photography. Through this blog, I want to share my life experiences and management/planning skills. I just want my readers to follow their passion and live a happy life.﻿